Thursday, January 19
Logan, UT
6:00 PM MT
Air Force Academy
66
at
59
Utah State
Late Comeback Lifts Falcons Over Utah State, 66-59
1/19/2023 10:46:00 PM | Women's Basketball
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo – On a night when the Air Force women's basketball team struggled offensively more than it had all season, the Falcons managed to pull it together late against Utah State, defeating the Aggies 66-59.
Down by as much as ten points in the early minutes of the final quarter, Air Force (10-10, 5-3 MW) took off on a 16-0 run down the back half of the final frame to overcome 36 Utah State points in the paint, and claim victory in a game which Utah State (4-14, 1-6 MW) held control of for the vast majority.
Freshman Faith Shelton, a defensive anchor for the Falcons down the stretch, tied her career high with nine points on the evening, while setting a new benchmark of 12 rebounds – eight of which were on the defensive side.
Sophomore Madison Smith led the floor with 23 points, fueled by an unblemished 14-14 from the free-throw line – her seventh game of the season with a perfect free-throw percentage, and the second in which Smith shot perfect with ten or more attempts.
Reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week Milahnie Perry added 12 points to the Falcon tally, marking her fourth-consecutive game to post double-digit scores. In the Falcons' four-game stretch through an eight-day stretch, Perry has averaged a team-high 18.0 points.
Sophomore Jo Huntimer, with five assists on the night, 95 for the season and 217 for her collegiate career, claimed sixth on the program's Division I assists leaderboard, surpassing Falcon alum Jimi Blagowsky (2011-15).
In the opening quarter, the Falcons shot 57.1% from the field behind a seven-point performance from Perry, as the two teams exchanged leads four times on the way to a three-point Air Force lead to close the first. Freshman Emily Adams capped the quarter with a driving hook shot under the Utah State basket, pushing the Air Force lead 19-16.
After Smith opened the second quarter with a driving attack up the righthand side, a 15-0 run by Utah State over a five-minute stretch pushed the Aggies out to a ten-point lead - Air Force's largest deficit of the evening – before Smith could draw a shooting foul to make her first trip to the free-throw line. From there, The Falcons constructed a 12-2 run of their own to finish the half tied at 33 apiece.
The third quarter nearly proved disastrous for Air Force, as the Falcons struggled to find their footing on offense, shooting just 18 percent for the entire quarter and starting 0-4 before Shelton capitalized on a second-chance layup to give Air Force its first lead since 7:58 in the second.
Utah State quickly erased its deficit with a 9-2 scoring run of its own which held into the final minute of the quarter, pushing the Aggies out to a 45-40 lead, before a driving layup by Huntimer cut their lead to a single possession.
The Falcons opened the fourth quarter going 1-6 through the first four minutes, before an and-one opportunity in heavy traffic for junior Kayla Pilson sparked a 16-0 run behind ten-straight successful free-throw attempts down the final six minutes of regulation to force Utah State into foul trouble, leading to the eventual 66-59 Falcon win.
Next up, Air Force women's basketball is in Idaho, taking on Boise State on Thursday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m.
Down by as much as ten points in the early minutes of the final quarter, Air Force (10-10, 5-3 MW) took off on a 16-0 run down the back half of the final frame to overcome 36 Utah State points in the paint, and claim victory in a game which Utah State (4-14, 1-6 MW) held control of for the vast majority.
Freshman Faith Shelton, a defensive anchor for the Falcons down the stretch, tied her career high with nine points on the evening, while setting a new benchmark of 12 rebounds – eight of which were on the defensive side.
Sophomore Madison Smith led the floor with 23 points, fueled by an unblemished 14-14 from the free-throw line – her seventh game of the season with a perfect free-throw percentage, and the second in which Smith shot perfect with ten or more attempts.
Reigning Mountain West Freshman of the Week Milahnie Perry added 12 points to the Falcon tally, marking her fourth-consecutive game to post double-digit scores. In the Falcons' four-game stretch through an eight-day stretch, Perry has averaged a team-high 18.0 points.
Sophomore Jo Huntimer, with five assists on the night, 95 for the season and 217 for her collegiate career, claimed sixth on the program's Division I assists leaderboard, surpassing Falcon alum Jimi Blagowsky (2011-15).
In the opening quarter, the Falcons shot 57.1% from the field behind a seven-point performance from Perry, as the two teams exchanged leads four times on the way to a three-point Air Force lead to close the first. Freshman Emily Adams capped the quarter with a driving hook shot under the Utah State basket, pushing the Air Force lead 19-16.
After Smith opened the second quarter with a driving attack up the righthand side, a 15-0 run by Utah State over a five-minute stretch pushed the Aggies out to a ten-point lead - Air Force's largest deficit of the evening – before Smith could draw a shooting foul to make her first trip to the free-throw line. From there, The Falcons constructed a 12-2 run of their own to finish the half tied at 33 apiece.
The third quarter nearly proved disastrous for Air Force, as the Falcons struggled to find their footing on offense, shooting just 18 percent for the entire quarter and starting 0-4 before Shelton capitalized on a second-chance layup to give Air Force its first lead since 7:58 in the second.
Utah State quickly erased its deficit with a 9-2 scoring run of its own which held into the final minute of the quarter, pushing the Aggies out to a 45-40 lead, before a driving layup by Huntimer cut their lead to a single possession.
The Falcons opened the fourth quarter going 1-6 through the first four minutes, before an and-one opportunity in heavy traffic for junior Kayla Pilson sparked a 16-0 run behind ten-straight successful free-throw attempts down the final six minutes of regulation to force Utah State into foul trouble, leading to the eventual 66-59 Falcon win.
Next up, Air Force women's basketball is in Idaho, taking on Boise State on Thursday, January 26 at 6:30 p.m.